Singapore’s overloaded academic system – what can we do?

Our academic system is overloaded. Not only do students have to cram in all the information they need to ace their watershed examinations – because let’s face it, our academic system encourages excellence, not just “passing” examinations – they also have a bevy of other activities, programmes, and objectives that they have to attend to.

An overloaded system means overloaded teachers

I’m not a school teacher. But isn’t it a common refrain that “the teacher is rushing through the syllabus” or “the teacher rushed through that lesson”? And it’s likely that this isn’t always the fault of the teacher – it’s the fault of the system. There are too many things to be done in too short a time frame. More and more things are shoved in every other month, it seems – when the academic system is already straining to keep up with all the objectives that are already in place.

Just look at the number of notifications you have on Parents Gateway. If you, the adult, are struggling to decipher and keep up with everything – what more a student? 

Singapore’s success is contingent on the overloaded system

There’s a reason for this, of course. Singapore’s success has always been reliant on a skilled, knowledgeable workforce. That’s our advantage in the world arena. And to create such a workforce, it starts from young. Learn this knowledge, master that skill. All the initiatives in our school system come from good intentions, to make sure that our students grow up to be adults that can compete among the world’s best.

But it seems like nobody is keeping track of all the programmes and activities that an average student has to go through. I listen to what my students have to accomplish and the amount of work that each subject’s teacher doles out to them and I think – eh, this sounds like more work than a working adult has to do.

Most importantly, our academic system has gotten tougher

One key reason for this is that our academic system has gotten a lot more advanced. Techniques and concepts that were taught at higher levels are now being taught earlier and earlier. With our academic system getting more difficult, it stands to reason that more time has to be spent on our subjects.

But it’s not just our subjects that are demanding more time. All the other miscellaneous activities that students have to do also demand more time. And it seems, more and more, that initiatives are piled on without taking into context all the other requirements that we already have of students.

Seems like nobody really realises what an average student has to go through

I’m sure somebody has an overview of what the average student has to go through in the higher echelons of the government. I’m not saying there isn’t. 

But from a third party perspective, from a person who isn’t currently an MOE student or an MOE teacher… it certainly doesn’t seem that way. It feels like every initiative is launched in its own silo, and that there’s no consideration about the cumulative effect of all of this.

I understand why we do this. I understand why we want to prepare our students for an uncertain future. I understand why we want to cover all the bases.

But can our education system truly prepare us for every single permutation of the future? 

Prioritisation is needed

What I feel is lacking is prioritisation in our education system. Everything is important. Everything competes for a student’s attention. Everything must be done. In its current state, the education system doesn’t feel like it has a holistic design. It seems so patchwork, like a Frankenstein’s monster of disparate objectives stitched together.

And this puts the onus of prioritisation on the students.

But they are young. They’re kids. Even some adults can’t prioritise well. The point of us as custodians of the education system, is to prioritise for kids. Not make them prioritise for themselves. 

What can we do? 

I’m not in a place to effect change from a systemic level. And I don’t have the context or the knowledge to be able to consider all the repercussions and consequences. I’m not a scholar who has studied policy, after all.

But I do know that if the kids are forced to prioritise, then we have to help them prioritise.

And at times, it means helping them to let go of less important tasks, to give them permission to fail at the things that are less important. Because that is the only way for them to excel in the things that are important.

That means embracing disappointment. That means teaching our kids that it’s okay to be disappointed, to do poorly, to fail at the small things – so that they can focus, prioritise, and concentrate on the big things.

In the face of our overloaded education system, that’s all we can do. Let our kids know it’s okay to fail at some things, so that they can do well at the important things.

It’s difficult to say, and I think it’s even more difficult to put into practice.

But until our education system can prioritise for itself, that’s what we have to do to prioritise for our kids.